Gibraltar U16s women finish with improved performance against Moldova
Gibraltar U16 Women 49
Moldova U16 Women 82
FIBA women’s Eurobasket Division C
7-8 place playoffs
Gibraltar’s young females were to play one last match on Sunday morning.
This was to prove to be just as difficult as their first, facing the first team they had started the tournament against.
In that first match Gibraltar had struggled to score their first points, only having scored two points in the first quarter.
It was to be a different story on Sunday with Gibraltar’s improvement throughout the tournament evident to see on court.
Although going behind in the first quarter they were to finish with a 15-21, and keeping close to their opponents.
The grit and determination shown throughout the tournament was to see them battle it out, although the reduced ratio in making a basket still hampered them as they went further behind with a 9-24 second quarter.
Gibraltar, however, started to make some amends in the third quarter matching their opponents point for point for point as they finished 16-16 on points. The final quarter, with the result already far from their reach seeing them finish with a 9-24, just one point denying them the chance to finish with a half century in points. This the highest number of points gained in any of their matches throughout the tournament.
Although finishing 8th in the rankings, Gibraltar women’s U16 could take away having faced the challenges of playing at international level against some very tough opponents and having improved on every match.
The squad, which had some very young players who could still play in an under 14 now looking towards the future ahead knowing they can rise to the challenge.
Azerbijan was to come away as the victors in the Eurobasket Division C with a 69-52 victory over Cyprus in what was an exciting and exhilirating final on Sunday. Albania also beating Malta 43-41 in the 3rd and 4th play-off final.
Gibraltar successfully hosting a major tournament.